The
authors acknowledge the University of New Mexico Research Allocation Committee
grant that provided partial support for this study. We appreciate the generous
contributions of the employees of the Acoma Tourism Program towards this case
study, especially the Director. We thank the other Acoma Pueblo tribal members
whom we interviewed for their invaluable perspectives. We are grateful to
Asbjorn Osland for his constructive comments and suggestions.

The Business of Culture at Acoma Pueblo -
Case Study

Overview

Mary
Tenorio, Director of Acoma Pueblo Tourism Center, is dedicated to educating
non-native people about the southwestern American Indians, especially the Acoma
Pueblo Tribe. As the years pass, more and more visitors are attracted to Old
Acoma, also known as "Sky City." The tour and center have become a
successful business that is outgrowing the capacity of its facilities. Ms.
Tenorio needs to address these issues with the traditional Tribal Council
members, who oversee the visitorís center, to convince them to accommodate the
increase in tourism. Business development can benefit the Acoma Pueblo Tribe
but not at the expense of its cultural traditions and values.

Acoma Pueblo

Acoma
Pueblo is a federally recognized American Indian tribe in Cibola County, New
Mexico. It is one of nineteen Pueblo Indian nations in the state who continue
to live within their own enriched traditional values known to them since the
beginning of time. As an American Indian community, the Acoma people are proud
of their history, heritage, and cultural values that have kept them unique in
the face of Spanish and American colonists. The Acoma Pueblo people are a
distinct tribe that has its own religion, culture, and language; they are
divided into clans. Each of the tribal clans, fourteen in all, has its
particular spiritual significance. The Acoma people are known by their clan
which is traced through the motherís side; the mother passes her clan
designation to her children. This constitutes the matriarchal descent pattern
that most Pueblos tribes follow.

Within
the matriarchal tradition, women are responsible for the family and the home.
They are not permitted in sacred kivas where men practice in religious
ceremonies. An Acoma woman is considered head of the household, has possession
of the house, and hands down the sole ownership of the house to her youngest
daughter. The youngest daughter is responsible for taking care of family
members. If an Acoma man marries outside of the tribe, it is expected that he
will move to his wifeís location.

The
language of the Acoma people is part of the Keresan tribal language and is
shared with the people of Laguna Pueblo and San Felipe Pueblo. The Pueblo of
Acoma is adjacent to the Pueblo of Laguna. Granted a tribe may live in close
proximity to another tribe and some similar characteristics may exist but there
are no two American Indian tribes entirely alike.

Acoma
Pueblo is only one federally recognized American Indian tribe out of 511
distinct tribes within the United States (see Tiller, 1996). There are an
additional 200 or so unrecognized tribes that occupy various areas in the
United States. Tribal people live in a variety of environments, either on or
off the reservations that may occupy rural areas or cities. The Pueblo of Acoma
has an interstate highway (I-40) cutting through its reservation. Fifteen miles
to the west of Acoma is the town of Grants while to the east is the city of
Albuquerque 56 miles away.

The
Acoma Tribe has reservation land where a majority of the tribally enrolled
members occupy their homes. Based on a 1995 census, approximately 6,091 people
live on the reservation including both tribal and non-tribal individuals. Many
of the people who live on the reservation commute to the surrounding urban
areas for employment. Reservation land is also known as trust land, land held
in trust by the federal government that is intended for tribal use. The
reservation of Acoma Pueblo expands over 378,114 acres: the Tribe owns 377, 794
acres and 320 acres are owned by individual tribal members.

Old
Acoma is one of three villages on the Acoma reservation; the other two villages
are Acomita and McCartys. Old Acoma is referred to as "Sky City"
because of its significant location. Sky City is the center of attraction for
tourists who come from miles around to view the spectacular site.

History of Old Acoma - "Sky
City"

Old
Acoma or Sky City is unique in its history. Archaeologists trace its occupation
back to at least 1150 A.D. Sky City is still occupied by tribal elders who
continue to live as they did many years ago. Currently, there are about 30
people in Sky City, only a handful of people. The Acoma Tribe preserves Sky
City by not contaminating it with todayís modern utilities, such as running
water, sewer service, natural gas, and electricity. The people who live on the
mesa top store their drinking water and replenish it daily, use lanterns at
night, cook their food in traditional adobe bread ovens that are built outside
the home, and have out-houses for facilities. Just being within the village, a
visitor is set back into time and can experience a sense of peace and
tranquillity.

Sky
City acquired its name due to the site it occupies. The village of Old Acoma
stands on a mesa top 365 feet above the surrounding valley of sparse, dry
farmland with a mixture of pinon and juniper trees. Once on top of the mesa,
you are able to see for miles in all directions. There is a beautiful view of
Mount Taylor at over 11,000 feet in the distance and if you look down from the
mesa you are able to see the fields of the villagers who grow watermelon, corn,
and other native foods.

The
village consists of 250 dwellings. Even though only a handful of people live at
Sky City year round, other tribal members come back to the village during
ceremonial events throughout the year. Many of the homes at Sky City are used
during the ceremonies to feed family members, as a resting place for the young
and old, and as a place where everyone can reunite as a family. American Indian
cultures are very family oriented. For the people of Acoma, it is important to
family members that they all return periodically to the Pueblo for their
traditional ceremonies. During this time, all family members share the
closeness and security which brings about happiness and joy to everyone.

The
people of Acoma chose the location of Sky City for one reason. Acoma oral
history tells the story about the beginning of time or "how we came to be
at Acoma." In the Keresan language, Acoma is known as "Hakíu"
which means a "place of readiness." Also in the Acoma native
language, Hakíu means "to prepare." As the Acoma tradition
tells it, the location of Acoma was actually prepared for the people. Orlando
Antonio, a senior tour guide at Sky City, describes the story which Acoma oral
history refers to as the creation story:

Before we
evolved from our hole in the ground as whole, there was a religious leader who
evolved first; his name was Marcel. What was he looking for? He was looking for
the place that had been prepared for the Acoma people. Again Hakíu means
prepared. So when he migrated south, every little hill side he came to he would
yell out the word Hakíu . . . no response. Every butte he came to, Hakíu,
nothing. Then Marcel came to Enchanted Mesa, he yells out the word again, Hakíu.
Guess what he probably heard? His echo. So Marcel says to himself, okay, I have
found the place that has been prepared for the Acoma people. Then I must return
and let the Acoma people know. Marcel returns and the evolution of Acoma people
begins.

For
centuries, Enchanted Mesa (nearby to the Sky City mesa) served a band of Acoma
ancestors as a dwelling, storehouse, and fortress.

The
"new home" for the Acoma people at Enchanted Mesa stood 400 feet
above the valley floor. A series of single-file handholds and steps cut into
the towering rock provided access. Then, one day during a violent storm, part
of the descent-pathway crumbled leaving a young girl with her grandmother
trapped on the mesa top. Rather than starve, they leapt to their deaths. Upon
hearing of this event, the tribal elders realized that they must move to a
different mesa, one known as "Sky City," to reestablish their homes
and continue to live their lives as Acoma people.

Many
people considered Sky City an ideal site for protection from marauding enemies.
Before settlers occupied the surrounding valley, nomadic American Indian tribes
would raid the area for their livelihood, stealing food and supplies. During
this time the Acoma Pueblo people farmed and raised many fruits and vegetables
below Sky City. But times have changed. During the past 37 years, the people
have moved away from farming due to pollution of the nearby Rio San Jose waters
caused by the growth of Grants. The crops do not grow as well as they did in
the old days. However, there are still some Acoma people who continue the
ancient tradition of farming.

History of Tourism at Sky City

The
idea of being in the tourism business is new to the Pueblo of Acoma, yet
tourism began with the people of Sky City in the beginning of the 1900ís. The
enterprise that started out as touring an historical Pueblo village and seeing
"real live" American Indians has become one of New Mexicoís top five
tourist spots attracting more than 115,000 visitors a year.

The
tourism business at Sky City has a unique history and is connected to the San
Esteban del Rey Mission which occupies the mesa top among the houses and
ceremonial kivas. The mission was begun in 1629 under the direction of
Friar Juan Ramirez of Spain and was completed in 1640. Friar Juan Ramirez chose
the people of Acoma for conversion to Christianity (Catholicism) because he had
heard that they held the distinction of being the most rebellious of all the
southwestern tribes. He was determined to save these rebels because he believed
it was his work as a man of the church. Friar Juan Ramirez set out on the
journey to Acoma alone. When he arrived there, warriors greeted him with
arrows. The villagers feared any visitor with white skin because such previous
encounters had resulted in war, bloodshed, and the loss of many people.

According
to Acoma legend, Friar Juan Ramirez gained entry to Old Acoma because he saved
an infant falling off the high edge as he approached the mesa to deliver his
message of the church. The people of Old Acoma and the tribal leader considered
the delivery of the child to its mother to be a miracle. Knowing how high their
mesa was and seeing a man in a robe must have made the people of Acoma believe
that the Friar, a white man, had special powers.

This
event bestowed a special significance to Friar Juan Ramirez and allowed him to
stay with the people of Acoma. Friar Juan Ramirez did not reveal until years
later that the infant girl had fallen onto a ledge, was stunned, and he had
simply picked her up. This "miracle" inspired the devotion of the
Acoma people to Friar Ramirez and it helped to build San Esteban del Rey
Mission. The establishment of the mission resulted from peace yet the Spaniards
indentured the Acoma people to build it.

As
time passed into the current century, the church caretakers needed financial
assistance to maintain the mission and to preserve its significance. Ms.
Tenorio says that there are records dating back to the 1930ís showing the
number of visitors at Sky City who made monetary donations to the mission to
help with renovations. It is believed that in those days, the mission
caretakers served as tour guides and they told the history of the mission but
no real history of the Acoma people.

Ms.
Tenorio believes that, in these earlier days, the visitors would roam the
village, look into peopleís houses, and take food for themselves. Hollywood
motion pictures, in those days, depicted Natives as savages. These images
instilled the visitorsí conceptions of American Indiansí appearance and
livelihood. The visitors who arrived during those times came from other missions
and included curios seekers and historians. A rudimentary road that was built
for a motion picture in the twenties served as the only access route to the top
of the high mesa. Before that time, toeholds carved into the cliff and several
systems of long ladders functioned as the access route to the top. That depicts
the beginning of the tourism business at Sky City: visitors came to see the
historic San Esteban del Rey Mission and made monetary donations for the
restoration and preservation of the mission.

Ms.
Tenorio recalls another significant event that helped boost the small tourism
business. The exact time frame is not known but during the late 1950ís or early
60ís another motion picture company came to Sky City to film a John Wayne movie
and it reconstructed the original road. The motion picture was "African
Sunset." The new road, exchanged for filming the movie, gave the people of
Acoma Pueblo much needed vehicle access to the top of Sky City.

The Acoma Tribal Council

During
the 1960ís, the Acoma Tribal Council became formally established. In 1936, the
United States government established the tribal government system under the
Indian Reorganization Act (IRA). Yet, Indian people did not have the right to
vote in New Mexico state elections until 1948. That is why for years after the
IRA, the Pueblo of Acoma still had not realized the need for a formal tribal
council.

The
U.S. federal government considers the tribes on the reservations to be
quasi-sovereign, domestic, and dependent nations. Such sovereign rights include
the power to determine their own form of government, to define conditions for
membership in the nation, to administer justice and enforce laws, to tax, to
regulate domestic relations of its members, and to regulate property use. Each
tribal entity has its own governmental organization that usually opts for a
constitution and council that oversees tribal businesses, finances, programs,
and policies. Because the tribes are inherently sovereign, individual states
may not exercise authority over them unless authorized by Congress.

Because
sovereignty means the power or authority to govern, and because tribes are
sovereign, they must be allowed to choose the manner and form by which they
will govern. Many Native Nations chose to adopt constitutional government
models similar to that of the United States. Others, like Acoma Pueblo, chose
to retain their traditional form of governance. Under traditional forms,
religious leaders (also known as caciques) or tribal chiefs maintain the
authority to make decisions on behalf of their tribe. The United States
recognized this type of government in treaty agreements with the various
tribes. The Supreme Court decreed that American tribes are not required to
function under a "normal" constitutional government if they so chose.
Therefore, the Pueblo of Acoma could select their traditional form of
government with one particular clan having responsibility for appointing the
Tribal Council and the Governor of the Pueblo. The Governor is also the head of
the Tribal Council.

Economic Growth in Tourism

The
Acoma Tribal Council members began to see an opportunity for tribal economic
development by focusing on the tourism trade that the mission caretakers had
managed. They knew the mission still received donations from visitors. During
the 1960ís to the mid-1980ís, the Tribal Council tried to formalize the tourism
business. Being fairly new to matters of administration and having no
significant knowledge of business, they did their best to manage the business.
The Acoma Tribal Council, as a traditional government, looked to the tribal
elders for wisdom, took traditions and customs as decision making tools, and
progressed by abiding to traditional Pueblo religion and values.

Within
a few years, the Tribal Council constructed a dwelling at the Sky City entrance
for use as a "guide office." Visitors would pay a small fee here to
roam freely within the village. After years of operation, however, the office
could not handle the influx of visitors because Sky City lacked electricity and
running water. An additional problem related to parking. Most of the visitors
had to park below the mesa and walk up the road to the top.

After
deliberating the situation, the Council agreed to use some land at the base of
Old Acoma to build a new visitorís center that would be a mandatory stop and a
starting point for the Sky City tour. The inclusion of modern utilities added
to the relatively large construction costs of the center. Since Sky City had no
contemporary utilities, all of the resources had to be brought in from the
village of Acomita, 11 miles away. With construction plans in hand, they began
to install water, sewer, and electrical lines from Acomita to the new visitorís
center. Because Sky City is a National Historic Landmark, the utilities had to
be designated as an underground utility resource. Now, as you travel to Sky
City you do not see electrical poles; this preserves the beauty of the land as
it has been seen for centuries.

After
installation of the utilitiesí infrastructure, construction began on the
visitorís center building and parking facilities. The new center could not have
been built without financial support from the federally sponsored Community
Action Program (CAP) that assisted economic development on American Indian
reservations. The Acoma Tribal Councilís proposal to CAP for the tourism
facility was a success. In 1978, the Pueblo of Acoma Tourist Visitorís Program
officially opened its doors at the new center.

The
new tourism center had a snack bar and gift shop at the same counter. The snack
bar sold a few items of food including candy and drinks. The gift shop sold
postcards, Acoma pottery, T-shirts, and other small items. Even though a
restroom existed, both the visitors and the employees had to share it. An old
school bus transported the visitors up to Sky City. Known as "Old
Blue" to the employees, the bus was the only means of transporting the
visitors.

Initially,
the visitorís center had a handful of employees and visitors paid a reasonable
fee for the tour. At this time, no formal structure to the tour existed.
Visitors still went to the mesa top to roam the village. They asked many
questions as they went from site to site: how the people at Sky City cook their
food, where they get their drinking water, and why the people chose to live a
life style without any utilities. More specific questions focused on the Acoma
people: how is it possible to construct the earthen dwellings, what is a kiva
and what is its significance, and what religion do the Acoma people practice?
The tour guides gave out information based on their own personal knowledge from
stories that had been passed on to them as young children. They answered
questions as best they could about the Acoma people and their long history.

Acoma
people are well known for their unique pottery and their hard work to create
the beautiful designs of parrots and detailed art work with different designs
that represent the rain, the sun, and the other elements of the Earth known to
the Acoma people. The residents of Sky City saw an opportunity to make some
money from the visitors who came on the tour. The women set up a stand in front
of their houses and displayed their pottery. Visitors are fascinated by the
beauty of the intricate pottery designs, their purchases have helped these
"works of art" to become famous.

The
hard work put into the visitorís center by the Acoma Tribal Council spoke for
itself. In the past, it had generated a small amount of revenue but not enough
to be recognized as a functional business. The revenue from the tourists, who
stood in awe of the wondrous ancient site, enabled the Tribe and the center to
break ground into something big.

Economic
development through tourism is a management strategy to foster the economic
independence of the Acoma people. Developing an ancestoral site as a tourism
attraction must be balanced with business concepts involving fiscal
accountability, on the one hand, and with preserving the delicate cultural
traditions and harmony of the Pueblo people on the other hand. While Native
people throughout the world share many of the same challenges, and certain
Native traditions and values may appear to be similar, they do not share the
same culture. The preservation of the Sky City historical site, its location
and spirituality, and its peacefulness are features that attract the visitors
from all over the world to the "place of readiness."

Mary Tenorioís Role

It
was not until 1986 that Mary Tenorio became involved with the Acoma Tourism Center.
A social worker by profession, Ms. Tenorio came to work for the tourism center
as a retreat from her previous job. She had intended to stay with the center
for a year to recover from job burn-out. The Acoma Tribal Council granted her
job request and she became the ninth permanent staff member. During her first
year, Ms. Tenorio worked as a cashier. She helped a co-worker develop forms to
keep track of daily fees paid by tourists. During this time, the center had no
formal way of keeping track of how much daily revenue it received or of other
information on the business in general.

From
then on, Ms. Tenorio continued to develop other forms to account for inventory,
for record keeping of tour fees, where visitors traveled from, and so on.
Because the forms contained detailed information, she believed that any person
should be able to look at a particular sheet at the end of the day and review
the information about how many people took the tour. Other information that she
proposed to be collected included the number of T-shirts sold, their sizes, and
even the T-shirtís type of design. Ms. Tenorio played a major role in
transforming the tourism center into a business entity.

As
the years went by, Ms. Tenorio continued to work at the tourism center. She enjoyed
her job and continued to develop an accounting system to make work more
efficient. She did not entertain any thoughts about returning to her old
profession because she enjoyed the challenges in the tourism industry. Having a
little business background from classes she took at a local community college,
she continued to learn the basic concepts of business in her day to day
experience.

A
few of her successes in the early years of her work at Acoma included the
approval by the Acoma Tribal Council of a cultural and historical
"script" for use by all tour guides. She designed brochures,
furthermore, as a marketing tool to promote the Sky City tour. With much
motivation and devotion to her job, she traveled to different areas around the
state and requested that the colorful brochures be inserted into conference
packets (see Appendix A). She also distributed brochures to local business
outlets that promoted tourism information. In sum, she put much hard work and
effort into developing the Acoma tourism program.

Dealing with a Traditional Tribal Council

As
Ms. Tenorio continued to work on promoting the tourism center in the early
1990ís, she realized that the existing building could not handle the increasing
inflow of tourists. She decided to request funds from the Acoma Tribal Council
to expand the facility. As part of this expansion request, she included a plan
to expand the restroom as there was only one facility for everyone.

She
realized that dealing with the members of the Tribal Council could be
difficult. The traditional form of Pueblo government is associated, for the
most part, with cultures characterized by reliance on a council of elders,
highly valued communal and kinship bonds, and decision making through consensus
building. Moreover, a traditional council does not consider a womanís voice in
decisions. Traditional tribal members consider a womanís place to be in the
home and not in tribal governmental affairs. Tension between these frameworks of
governance and contemporary business organization introduced an important
political dynamic for Acoma tourism development (see Appendix B for comparisons
between Anglo-American and traditional Acoma Pueblo cultural patterns).

Ms.
Tenorio had to learn how to properly address the male tribal council members in
order for her ideas to be taken seriously. Because of her gender and the
traditional tribal decision patterns, she would have trouble addressing the
Council about the pressing issues she recognized as important to the tourism
center. After much frustration, she recognized the need to develop her own way
of communicating in a traditional tribal society. Her father had helped her
with this effort by teaching her how to do business with the Tribal Council. She
learned how to formally address the Council and, at the same time, to talk
professionally in her native tongue, and to show her respect to the Councilmen.
Along these lines, she made a considerable effort to advocate for the effective
protection of the Tribal communityís interests as it embarked upon increasing
its business participation in the capitalist framework of the tourism industry.

Because
the Tribal Council members recognized Ms. Tenorioís potential and her
capabilities, they grew to respect her as a professional business woman. Soon,
the Council promoted her to the position as director of the visitorís center.
In this new position, Ms. Tenorioís responsibility expanded. Due to the respect
bestowed by the Tribal Council, she developed more confidence in her
work-relationship with its members.

Ms.
Tenorio wanted to be more professional in her approach to management and, at
the same time, she felt it important to honor traditional Acoma customs. Thus,
she needed to redefine her method of working with the Council when she had to
request changes for the visitorís center. She eventually developed a strategy
that reflected a "win-win" situation for both sides. When approaching
the Tribal Council with a request that needed their approval, she would bring
up a topic by feeding the members ideas and making suggestions. She would make
the suggestions in a "round about way" that could create a vision for
the Council. This new technique worked: the Council members began to feel like
they had done all the brainstorming. They felt, furthermore, that they had made
the recommended changes. As a result the Council members felt inspired by their
decision to make improvements to the visitorís center. The strategy resulted in
Ms. Tenorio coming out of the meetings with approval of the plans that she
needed.

Although
Mary Tenorioís story may now seem like a success, she did go through very hard
times in learning to gain the Tribal Council membersí respect and in learning
to effectively process her suggestions. As a result, Ms. Tenorio says: "I
have developed Ďthick skiní which allows me to handle any situation that may
come my way in the future."

Development of the Business Board

The
Acoma Tribal Council developed a Business Board in 1997 with the Board
reporting to the Council. The purpose of the Board is to place all of the
Tribeís economic development under the direction of the Business Board instead
of the Tribal Council. This allows the Tribal Council to concentrate on other
policy and administrative matters while still maintaining oversight of business
development on the reservation.

Three
years ago, the Tribal Council conducted a formal assessment of all the business
activities of the tribe. The committee with this charge realized the need to
create a group of business professionals who understood the concepts of
managing economic development. It recognized, furthermore, that a substantive
difference between business affairs and traditional tribal governmental affairs
exists. With a casino now under the Tribeís operation, an additional reason for
the new Board became apparent. The State Indian Gaming Regulatory Commission
had advised on the separation for business on one side and governmental affairs
on the other.

Before
the Business Board existed, a tribal official oversaw the tourism center and
found this to be a difficult task. Tribal officials had many different matters
to attend to which made it impossible to have a person available during working
hours. Now, the visitorís center administrative staff has a formal chain of
command to follow with ready access to an office and person to whom they can
report. Indirectly, the tourism program is still under the Tribal Council
because it represents the people.

One
of the many advantages for the five new members of the Business Board is that
business activities are now separated from tribal politics. Work on economic
development issues have a quicker turnaround time. Another advantage is that
appointments are staggered in three year terms. Consistency can be maintained
by the Board with regard to the business functions that must operate in a
professional manner.

The
Tribal Council appoints the Business Board members. Three Acoma tribal members
and two non-tribal members, one of whom is non-Indian currently serve on the
Board. Of the two non-tribal board members, one is an attorney from Albuquerque
and the other is married to an Acoma family member. The Tribal Governor and one
other representative from the Tribal Council sit on the Board but they do not
have a vote. The Board has a charter with by-laws; it makes recommendations to
the Governor concerning business opportunities from "outside"
corporations as well as local tribal entrepreneurs. Currently, the Business
Board has eight business operations under its direction. As with any new
organization, it is experiencing growing pains. There is a need for additional
staff. The President of the Board is employed full time by the Council. The
other Board members serve on a voluntary basis. Support staff is provided by
the Acoma Tribal Administration. Qualified people are needed to assist in
developing the Board to its fullest potential.

The Tourism Program Today

Acoma
Pueblo draws thousands of visitors every month of the year. The tourism center
now houses the admissions office, a small restaurant, a gift shop, and a
museum. The admissions office handles the ticket sales for the tours and the
permits for still-cameras only. The restaurantís menu offers both
Anglo-American and traditional Pueblo dishes as well as snack-bar type items.
The gift shop sells merchandise such as Acoma Pueblo pottery, jewelry,
T-shirts, posters, and postcards. The hand-crafted items are bought directly
from local Natives who guarantee the authenticity of their work. Commercial
items are usually purchased from "outside" businesses. The centerís
museum, with its "1,000 Years of Clay" exhibit, depicts the history
and customs of the early inhabitants of Acoma. And a comfortable bus takes
visitors up to the mesa top.

The
guided tour of Sky City lasts approximately one hour and involves a one-mile
walk. As people become more aware of the history of the Americas, their
curiosity deepens about American Indian people. This is apparent at Acoma:
visitors continue to be fascinated by its rich culture and historical
significance. For example, they learn that Acoma is one of the oldest
continuously inhabited villages in North America, and that, in 1599, a famous
battle over religious freedom was fought between Conquistadors and the Acoma
people. Having an opportunity to experience and learn about another culture is
the very origin of why people visit Sky City.

The
essence of the tourism program is to teach the world about the Acoma Pueblo
people. There are individuals who still believe that Natives wear buck skins,
beads, and feathers. They believe, furthermore, that American Indian people
live in desolated areas, have tipis for homes, have no formal education, and
that Native men are either warriors, alcoholics, or are uncivilized. These
common misconceptions of Native people are corrected by the patient Acoma
Pueblo tour guides during the educational tour at Sky City.

According
to the records kept by the center, the top ten states of annual visitor origin
are: California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas. Visitors come from every state in the U.S.
and from around the world: Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Holland, Italy,
Sweden, and Switzerland to name a few. With this in mind, the visitorís center
is planning to market their program to people in other countries. The Acoma
Tourism center is developing a web site as a marketing tool. With the
overwhelming influx of tourists, once again, the center has outgrown its
existing facilities.

The
number of visitors fluctuates during the year. The busiest time is from May
through October. Tour companies, both large and small and both local and
national, bring buses filled with customers, public schools bring children on
field trips. And the various events in surrounding cities, such as the
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta and the Gallup Inter-tribal Indian
Ceremonial, draw visitors to Acoma. The slowest time of the year is November
through April when the cold winter months causes the drop in visitors. Although
Sky City is open year round, the Tribe closes the facilities a few times a year
in observance of its religious ceremonies. This very fact is a point of
discussion by managers and Business Board members because it is interfering
with the flow of visitors who travel for miles to visit Sky City.

The
tourism center has nine management positions with 27 permanent employees.
During the summer months, there are 50 to 55 employees all of whom are members
of the Acoma Pueblo tribe. The center is organized into departments: security,
facility maintenance, gifts, admissions, kitchen, and administration.
Non-management personnel include: tour guides, vendor-guides, bus drivers,
security guards, custodians, sales clerks, cashiers, and cooks.

Permanent
and part-time staff in the areas of hospitality and customer service as well as
some other areas participate in training programs. Some of the training
contractors include: 1) Fred Pryor Seminars, 2) Marriott, 3) U.S. Forestry
Department, and 4) New Mexico Department of Tourism. Ms. Tenorio stresses the
importance of incorporating ethical values and practicing professional manners
along with relying on traditional values as a framework in staff training
activities. The articulation of traditional Acoma Pueblo values are critical
for motivating employees and these are conveyed by stressing the importance of
Acoma history and the significance of the staffís role in portraying Acomaís
history to visitors.

Staff
meetings are positively-oriented to correct any misunderstandings or problems
staff may encounter while in the presence of non-tribal visitors who may convey
negative feelings or stereotypes towards the Acoma people and its particular
cultural traditions. All staff members receive training to become experts on
the history of Acoma. No one is to say the three deadly words: "I donít
know." The culturally-based attractions and the hospitality of the
destination tour-hosts serve to empower the Acoma people. The manner in which
the Acoma Pueblo hosts interact with visitors is a critical determinant of the
travel experiences and resulting satisfaction of guests. Visitors upon
returning home can influence others to visit the Pueblo.

A
substantial amount of revenue is brought into the Acoma tourism business. It is
estimated that over $1 million is generated on a yearly basis. This revenue is
used for operating costs and the remaining profits go into the "general
tribal account." At Acoma Pueblo, the strategies and projects that are
most likely to lead to tribal financial success must be based on community
control rather than on individual enterprise. Funds generated by tribal
enterprises go directly into the community to help with water lines, road
maintenance, and community centers used by the elderly and youth. The tourism
center, furthermore, is establishing scholarships and internships for employees
who are seeking higher education. Acoma Pueblo tradition means that the Tribe
must first be able to take care of its own people before it can contribute to
others.

The
spread of tourism is driven, in part, by a perpetual search for new
destinations, and, in part, by an increasing interest in and marketing of
things natural or unspoiled. Acoma Pueblo offers a natural beauty that is
unspoiled. The Acoma Tourism program gives a clear picture of how Acoma Pueblo
was many years ago and shows how, over the centuries, it resisted outside
Euro-American influences that sought to change its culture and traditions.

Appendix A

(PHOTO)

Source: brochure of the Pueblo of Acoma, "Acoma-Sky
City" (1996).

Appendix B

Traditional Acoma Pueblo Tribal and
Anglo-American Cultural Patterns

Category

Acoma
Pueblo

Anglo

Interaction

Communication is face to face
and

verbal; consensus-oriented and
status conscious.

Communication is written and
spoken. Differences of opinion are encouraged as is competition.

Association

Family organization based on clan;matriarchal in origin; land is held by youngest daughter.

Family organization based on
nuclear family. Land is individually owned.

Authority

Ascribed authority Ė Spiritual
leaders have significant power; today tribal government is based on
traditional appointed system.

Secular authority, achieved
status, U.S. federal system of government with elected representation.

Work

Originally agrarian-based;
"work" is part of life activity and may be subordinated to other
activities such as traditional religious ceremonies.

Industrialized economy;
technical orientation; work holds high priority in life; people value money
and material goods.

Temporality

Present-oriented. Time
measured by the season or task to be accomplished (cyclic-oriented).

Time measured by minutes and
hours and is extremely important; time is lineally-oriented.

Learning

Teaching is verbal; learning
is by mimic and rote; instructors are respected elders.

Teaching is multifaceted -
emphasis is on practical & applied. Teachers have college degrees.

Spirituality

Religion is an integral part
of life in general and in everyday life; religion pervades all activities.

Religion and work are separate
entities and is so stated in the constitution.

Natural Resources

Adapts and respects the
environment. People and nature are integrated and inseparable.

Seeks to control and exploit
the environment. People are separate from nature.

Sources: Acoma Pueblo material is adapted from Muller
(1998), Winfield (1995), Stewart & Bennett (1991), and the members of the
American Indian Business Association, NM; Anglo material is adapted from Harris
& Moran (1991) and Stewart & Bennett (1991).

The Business of
Culture at Acoma Pueblo - Instructorís Manual for Case Study

Case Study Discussion Questions

Distinguish some attributes
of the Acoma Pueblo tribal community that are unique to it as a distinct
American Indian community.

In what ways may visitorsí
stereotypes of American Indian people be transformed as a result of their
experience at Acoma Pueblo?

Identify some traditional
Acoma tribal cultural values and explain how it is possible that
contemporary business values and traditional cultural values can co-exist
at Acoma Pueblo.

Define the program managerís
role in influencing the development of the visitorís program and explain
her strategy to address the critical issues she faced? How has gender
influenced her role?

Identify some of the critical
issues that tribal managers and other decision makers encountered in
developing this enterprise and how they have been resolved or managed. How
do such issues differ from those in a conventional business or
organization?

Case Overview

Acoma
Pueblo may be the oldest continuously inhabited site in the continental U.S.
Spanish explorers attempted to control its lands and people since the 16th
century. Early visitors came in the 1930s and, in the 1980s, mainly due to the
efforts of one visionary manager, the Tribe slowly and conscientiously
developed its visitor program to attract and educate people from throughout the
world. What began as a modest and small business that could shut down its
operation for tribal ceremonials is now a profitable and highly visible entity
that must respond to customer demand. Existing in a fragile environment of
place, people, and culture, the newly created Tribal Business Board and
seasoned tourism program manager are learning to respond to the marketplace that
is largely non-tribal and, at the same time, to preserve their heritage and
traditional Pueblo tribal traditions, values, and practices.

Acoma
Puebloís economy was relatively small and undeveloped until the mid - 1980s.
The fundamental management question for the tribe is how it can effectively
enhance the tribal economy by developing its tourism program and some other
businesses without compromising its cultural heritage and traditions. By
utilizing modern management techniques, the Tribe has an opportunity to enhance
its economic viability and generate revenue that will help other business
development activities.

Specific Teaching Objectives

The
teaching objectives of the case are the following:

to improve awareness about
our American Indian heritage and to debunk the Hollywood Indian with the
intent that tribal people will be more accepted in the workplace and in
college programs.

to introduce the notion that
American Indian tribesare engaging in viable business activities
with culturally relevant management strategies.

to analyze the intersections
among cultural, business, and organizations.

to increase knowledge of the
diversity of American Indian cultures and organizations.

to understand how business
activities can contribute to tribal economic development and tribal
integrity.

to explore the similarities
and differences between conventional American business values and business
as practiced in Native communities.

to compare Pueblo Indian
society and the dominant U.S. society with regard to cultural values,
governance, gender relations, and approaches to business development.

Intended Audiences and Courses

The
case is intended to be used in both upper division undergraduate courses and
graduate courses in business and management. It can be a module in an
organizational behavior or theory course, alternatively, it could be a module
in a workforce diversity or business and society course. It could be used,
furthermore, in an American Indian business and management course or a related
course that addresses alternative management and organizational systems. There
are possibilities for using the case in American Indian study programs.

The
case grew out of a student team case study field assignment in a newly
organized course for upper division undergraduates and graduate students
entitled "American Indian Business and Management" at the University
of New Mexico. The case was originally presented by student team members as their
final project. This case study can be positioned within general management
courses after introductory material and after a discussion on cultural values
and the workplace including gender relations and workforce diversity within
organizations. It could be part of a teaching module on organizational culture
and design; it could also be used in a course on workforce diversity or
cross-cultural management/behavior as an example to illustrate how particular
cultures design culturally relevant organizations and businesses. We designed
the case study to have broad application rather than narrow appeal.

Discussion Questions, Answers, and
Analysis

This
section is organized according to the discussion questions that are found at
the end of the case study.

1.
Distinguish some attributes of the Acoma Pueblo tribal community that are
unique to it as a distinct American Indian community.

Based
upon a reading of the case, we can assume that students will be able to
identify some attributes of Acoma Pueblo life such as the importance of
religious activities and how they permeate everyday life in contrast to the
duality of the dominant culture where religion and secular life are rarely
intertwined. Acoma Pueblo decided to adopt a traditional form of tribal government
that is common in some other Pueblo Indian communities in New Mexico but that
is distinctive in terms of this Puebloís particular traditions. The traditional
government is not an elected one but it is appointed by the leaders of a
particular clan and it consists of only male members. Thus Acomaís residents do
not vote for their tribal government council members, and women cannot sit on
the tribal governmentís decision making body nor be selected to be governor.
This fact, in itself, should generate some interesting discussion.

Acoma
people speak Keres and they share a common linguistic affiliation with
the Laguna and San Felipe Pueblo tribes. These three Pueblos Indian tribes
belong to the Keresan language group. The Keresan tribal language
and the Hopic tribal language (of the Hopi people) belong to the Numic
language group. Acoma Pueblo people belong to distinct clans and they are
matriarchal in origin. This means that when a marriage occurs, the man will
live in the village of his wifeís relatives and it is through her that the
family lineage is traced. This is a particularly interesting academic issue to
discuss since in contemporary times, womenís decision making authority is not
in the public or governmental realm, as discussed above, but they are influential
in other ways. Appendix B that we have prepared is intended to help tease out
the cultural value similarities and differences between Acoma Pueblo people and
the dominant Anglo or Euro-American culture.

In what ways may visitorsí
stereotypes of American Indian people be transformed as a result of their
experience at Acoma Pueblo?

One
of the goals of the tourism program is to educate visitors about the history
and culture of Acoma Pueblo. The tour guides, visitorís center and vendors all
play a role in relating or exhibiting various aspects of culture and history in
ways that make it nearly impossible for the visitor to leave the Pueblo without
a deeper sense of American history and the various groups of actors, including
missionaries and Spaniard colonists, that have sought to transform Pueblo life.

The
tour guides go through a careful training program to acquire a uniform
historical account about their people and culture so that they are thoroughly
prepared to represent their Tribe in the best possible manner to non-tribal
members and to answer the many questions that they are asked. Such questions
and many statements from visitors often exhibit an appalling lack of knowledge
about American Indian history and colonialism and demonstrate the inaccurate
and cruel stereotypes that exist and persist about Native people who live in
the U.S. Stereotypes and misinformation have been formed early in life and are
reinforced in history books, Hollywood movies, public debate, and in university
classrooms where few instructors have accurate information about American
Indians. A good source of further information about stereotypes and myths about
American Indians is found in the book American Indian Stereotypes and
Realities listed in the references. It may be appropriate, furthermore, to
tease out myths and stereotypes about American Indians and to clarify how
stereotypes are formed and how they can inhibit effective workplace performance
(see Kolb, Osland, and Rubin, 1995).

An
interesting notion to bring up to students is the concept of cultural
mediators. Visitors to the Pueblo who go away with such a transformative
experience could serve as a bridge to inform others about American Indians and,
indeed, American history and cultures. By the fact that a visitor has experienced
Acoma Pueblo from the Native point of view gives the visitor legitimacy to pass
on such information to others. In this way there is a snowball effect in
educating people and in reducing stereotypical notions about American Indian
people in general and Pueblo Indian and Acoma Pueblo people in particular.

Identify some traditional
Acoma Pueblo cultural values and explain how it is possible that
contemporary business values and traditional cultural values can co-exist
at Acoma Pueblo.

In
discussing this question, there is an opportunity to get into as much depth as
time permits about the nature of cultural values and business values and how
these are reflected in tribal environments today and contemporary U.S. business
organizations. The idea of societal cultural and organizational culture can be
introduced. It would be helpful to begin to articulate the values that pertain
to the above categories and then to begin to explore the commonalities and
differences.

Some
contemporary business values that could be identified include: making a profit
for the individual or organization; a market orientation whereby people attempt
to maximize their own self interests which assumes an individualistic
orientation; the notion of material goods for consumption purposes; the notion
of individual ownership of land and "wealth;" the idea that people
exploit the environment or are involved in conquering it; the idea of strategic
planning where businesses attempt to gain market share, compete in an effort to
do so, and plan for future growth of the organization; and the principles of
separation of state and religion. In contrast, some of the tribal cultural
values that could be identified include: living in harmony with people, nature
and thus the environment; the integration of the spiritual realm with the
physical and all other realms - these are not distinguishable entities; the
idea of communal lands and tribal ownership as a collectivity of people; the
idea of matriarchy and the passing of lands through the motherís lineage; and
the sharing of goods and the distribution of wealth among tribal members to
benefit the whole. Appendix B may be useful in this section.

The
co-existence of both business and tribal values has slowly evolved in this
particular community with pressures from the external environment to expand the
Tourism Program. This has not been a quick process but a slow learning process
for the manager and the Tribal Council who have sought to preserve tribal
integrity and, at the same time, develop their sought after visitor program
into an organization that can respond to the increasing demand. For the tourism
program to remain attractive to customers it has had to modernize and to become
more conscious of its business role including human resources, marketing, data
processing, finances, strategic planning and other functions. Without adopting
a business mentality, the Tourism Program could have remained small and
non-profitable rather than the visible entity that it is today in the state,
nation and internationally.

What
is interesting about this case is how the business of the Tourism Program has
adapted to respond to the cultural environment in which it exists. These
include the distribution of profit to the Tribe; the closure of the program for
tribal holidays - a practice which is now being looked at as to whether this
can continue; the need to develop a story line about the Tribesí heritage and
cultural practices that are understandable to the visitor yet not revealing of
practices that lie at the heart of the spirituality of the Tribe that are not
disclosed to outsiders; the need for alternative visitor logistics to help
preserve the integrity of the Pueblo environment and Sky City, in particular;
and the development of business principles to make the program more efficient
and effective as a business entity, and how the manager has played a key role
in gradually educating others that such principles and practices can enhance
the tourism business without detracting from the integrity of the Tribe.

Define the program
managerís role in influencing development of the visitorís program and
explain her strategy to address the critical issues she faced? How has
gender influenced her role?

Mary
Tenorioís presence has been critical to the successful development of the
Tourism Program and organization. She began as a clerical assistant and in that
capacity grew to understand the organization well. She developed a broad
perspective on the program that included envisioning the organization as a
whole entity and one that could be improved upon with some application of
business management techniques that she learned at the community college. But
this was not enough; she recognized that in order for the program to be
successful, the Acoma Tribal Council would have to become more involved in
developing a strategy for the program and that their concerned involvement was
a key to its growth and success.

Because
the Acoma Tribal Council is a traditional form of tribal government, Council
members are male and tribal members do not vote for the Council; it is
appointed by religious/clan leaders who hold the most prestigious tribal
positions in traditional culture. Because of the composition of the Tribal Council
and because it served as the "board" of the Tourism Program, Ms.
Tenorio confronted some interesting issues because of her gender. In the public
and political spheres in traditional culture, moreover, although this is a
matriarchal society, males hold the reigns of power. Thus women are influential
but their power is behind the scenes and within the family lineage. Thus Ms.
Tenorio had to exercise caution in asserting her modern management ideas
because they could appear either to be inappropriate or because her role as
manager in the public sphere could be out of the boundaries of traditional
practices.

In
pre-contact time (prior to the arrival of the Spaniards), gender roles may have
been complementary and not hierarchical in social life (although the religious
order may have been hierarchical) (Klein & Ackerman, 1995). Due to the
patriarchal influence of the Spanish colonists and their missionaries, many
Pueblo Indian tribes adopted patriarchal practices. Paula Gunn Allen (1992), a
noted Laguna Pueblo social scientist, contends that Pueblo Indian gender roles
in many tribes in the Southwest were fundamentally altered by the Spanish. And
many tribes learned to exist with simultaneous Spanish and Pueblo practices
because they were forced to adopt some of the colonizersí practices such as
Catholicism. Early on, Pueblo Indian communities practiced their traditional
religion and governance while simultaneously overtly practicing the colonistsí
religion and appointing a tribal governor who would relate to the Spaniards for
negotiation purposes. The practice of simultaneous social and other systems
that to the outsider observer might appear to be contradictory evolved from
tribal cultural survival strategies (see Crozier & Hogle, 1998 and Muller,
1998).

Identify some of the
critical issues that managers and other decision makers encountered in
developing this enterprise and how they have been resolved or managed. How
do such issues differ from those in a conventional business or
organization?

The
intent of this question is to engage students in a discussion about how
business and organization within the American Indian community (in particular
on the reservation) may differ from traditional business in the dominant
community. Some relevant issues include:

The creation of a Business
Board that reports to the tribe to oversee the development of the tourism
business. The Board is appointed by the Tribal Council (government) and
includes both Acoma tribal members and others; it must approve economic
development and business plans. Prior to the Business Board, the Tribal
Council was the "governing board" of the tourism program.

Holidays at Acoma Pueblo
differ from those of the dominant society. The visitor center and tour has
closed on certain Acoma religious days in response to the Tribal Councilís
authority to set religious ceremonies even when those days conflict with
visitor demand.

The profits from the tourism
business, a Tribal enterprise, belong to the Tribe and are used for
economic development that benefits the Acoma Pueblo community at large.
There is no individual ownership or corporate ownership that is separate
from the Tribal Council and ultimately the Tribal people.

The staff of the visitor
program not only are educators and tour guides but they are skilled in
handling offensive questions and statements and inaccurate and
stereotypical comments in constructive ways. This requires great patience,
goodness of heart, and cross-cultural sensitivity. The tour-guide-visitor
interaction is the essence of the Acoma visitor program and it has taken
years to cultivate and to be exemplary. There is much to be learned from
the tour guides that could apply to students and workers in cross-cultural
contexts.

Teaching Plan

We
suggest that students first discuss what they perceive the case to be about and
any impressions or further questions that they have. This will help to tease
out the various perspectives that students have about the material and will
alert the instructor to any points of confusion or contention. If this case is
used by itself, then a discussion of each of the case study discussion
questions is appropriate. Students could be divided up into groups with each
group tackling one of the questions in depth for presentation to the whole
class, or, alternatively, students could prepare short answers to each question
prior to coming to class and then engage in a whole class discussion. If the
case is used with other cases involving American Indian business and
management, then this enterprise can be compared with other American Indian
organizations to assess similarities and differences around pertinent
organization and management criteria.

We
have developed several teaching aids that instructors may want to use along
with this case study. These include Appendix B that is a chart comparing
certain attributes of Acoma Pueblo culture with the dominant culture, and
Appendix A that is a reproduction of the pamphlet that the Toursim Program uses
for marketing and educational purposes. The video used at the Acoma Tourisim
Center may become available in the future for classroom use.

Research Methodology and Sources of Data

This
field study was part of a class team assignment to develop a case study of an
American Indian enterprise in the first offering of the "American Indian
Business and Management" class at the Anderson Schools of Management at
the University of New Mexico (see Muller, 2000). The instructor of the course
had met the Acoma Tourism Program manager prior to the course and they jointly
arranged for the class to visit the center and manager on-site. After the field
visit by the class and because the unique nature of the enterprise presented an
interesting organizational study, some of the students with the instructor
selected the tourism business as one of six case studies for development as a
final course project. The "Acoma" student team secured permission
from Ms. Mary Tenorio to obtain further information about the program. They
subsequently made more field trips to Acoma Pueblo to talk and interview staff
and Tribal Council members. Following the end of the course, the two lead
authors worked further to refine the case study for presentation at the 1999
Western Casewriters Association.

The
data collection methods for the case study included scanning the world wide web
for information on the program; making additional site visits to Acoma Pueblo,
including Sky City, and the visitor program, holding discussions and conducting
interviews with Ms. Tenorio, the Assistant Director, several tour guides, a Tribal
Business Board member, and Mr. Conroy Chino who is an Acoma Tribal member and
investigative reporter with the local NBC-TV affiliate. Mr. Chino,
subsequently, gave a talk to our class in which he elaborated on some of the
historical issues related to the development of the tourism program.

In
obtaining consent for developing the case studies for the class, our students
encountered a variety of responses from organizations and individuals in the
Albuquerque area. Some people were much more willing to talk with students than
others and we noted that ethnicity can play a role in securing permission to
discuss business and organization. In some cases, potential participants asked
students about their ethnicity and tribal origin, in other cases they did not.

In
general, we found that tribal people are reluctant to disclose current and
background information about their businesses. We attribute this, in part, to
an issue that Hall (1994) raises concerning Anglo-American culture and how it
goes about securing information. "White" culture, according to Hall
(1994), obtains information from "what other people tell us in words"
and "our way of getting information is by asking questions, an art with
its roots in Socrates and Plato (p. 91)." The tribes of the Southwest have
"one belief in commonÖ questions not only are not a good way to get
information but are actually intrusive, as though we were taking over the mind
of the other" (p. 91). Another factor in such reluctance may be that some
people in the region have been studied previously especially by anthropologists
conducting field studies. Because of these issues, we are very careful in
establishing relationships for organizational case studies and we find that
working through already existing channels of relationships is a better route
than approaching an individual or organization with whom we have no prior
relationship.

We
welcome your comments as instructors and students in using this case study. We
would like to receive your feedback about how it is received and how you use it
in your classrooms. A final note: Ms. Tenorio has reviewed an earlier draft of
this case and we are awaiting her final comments on the case study draft that
is going to press.

References

Allen, P.G.
(1992). The sacred hoop: Recovering the feminine in American Indian
traditions. New York: Routledge.